Mounting for rotary hoe type soil cultivators



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Oct. 26, 1965 L. K. CARRICK MOUNTING FOR ROTARY HOE TYPE SOIL CULTIVATORS Filed Sept. 9, 1965 ZAWRENCE K. CARk/CK Get. 26, 1965 Filed. Sept. 9, 1963 L. K. CARRICK MOUNTING FOR ROTARY HOE TYPE SOIL CULTIVATORS 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 w-Tr IN VEN TOR.

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MOUNTING FOR ROTARY HOE TYPE SOIL CULTIVATORS Filed Sept. 9, 1963 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. [HWRENCE CflkR/CK i/ai ATTYS.

Oct. 26, 1965 K. CARRICK 3,213,946

MOUNTING FOR ROTARY HOE TYPE SOIL CULTIVATORS Filed Sept. 9, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR. LflM/RENCE K. CHKK/CK 1/644 A TTYs.

United States Patent 3,213,946 MOUNTING FOR ROTARY HOE TYPE SOIL CULTIVATORS Lawrence K. Carrick, Spokane, Wash., assignor to Calkins Manufacturing Company, Spokane, Wash. Filed Sept. 9, 1963, Ser. No. 307,408 Claims. (Cl. 172573) This invention relates to improvements in rotary hoe type soil cultivators. In these cultivators a series of rotatable discs are mounted on a shaft which is journalled in a frame. The discs may be toothed and they may or may not be dished. In cultivating, each of the disc-frame sections is pulled with the shaft extending transverse to the direction of travel but with one end ahead of the other so that when the discs rotate they also dig into and move the soil transversely with respect to the direction of travel of the cultivator. In the use of these cultivators it is desirable to pull two sections in tandem, the rear section having its forwardmost end behind the rearmost end of the front section. In this way the tendency of the cultivator to drift sidewise is overcome, The soil is shifted to and fro and the following section refills the groove and levels the ridge made at the ends of the leading section. Two or more tandem pairs of cultivator sections are often put together using one main frame with retractable wheels for transport.

It is a purpose of this invention to provide a rotary hoe type soil cultivator, wherein two tandem sections of cultivators are interconnected by a wheeled frame, each section being pivoted to the frame for rocking movement about an axis extending in the direction of travel with resilient means interconnecting the lead section and the trail section operable to urge the leading ends of both sections upward in opposition to their natural tendency to dig in more deeply than the rear ends of the sections.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such a soil cultivator that embodies means to keep the freely pivoted sections from swinging excessively up and down about their pivots during transport with the sections raised.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such a soil cultivator with novel connections between the sections, their mounting frame and the hitch frame and the wheel lowering means whereby the section mounting frame is yieldingly held in fixed relation with respect to the hitch frame when the wheels are lowered for transporting the cultivator from one field to another.

The objects and advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the following description and the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form of the invention is shown. The drawings and description are illustrative only, however, and are not intended to limit the invention except insofar as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a cultivator embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the cultivator with the tilling sections shifted to a parallel position with respect to each other;

FIGURE 3 is a rear end view of the cultivator;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is a view taken on the line 6-6 of FIG- URE 4;

FIGURE 7 is a view taken on the line 77 of FIG- URE 1;

3,213,946 Patented Oct. 26, 1965 FIGURE 8 is a sectional view on the line 88 of FIGURE 1 showing the wheels lowered for trasnport of the cultivator and the sections parallel;

FIGURE 9 is a View taken on the line 99 of FIG- URE 8;

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged sectional View on the line 10-10 of FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 11 is a detailed view of the hitch mounting;

FIGURE 12 is a side view of the mechanism for connecting spring bars between fore and aft tillage unit-s and;

FIGURE 13 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 13-13 of FIGURE 12;

FIGURE 14 is a detailed view taken on the line 1414 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 15 is a sectional view on the line 1515 of FIGURE 13.

Referring now to the drawings the present invention is directed to improvements in a soil cultivator of the rotary hoe type. The embodiment disclosed is provided with four sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 of rotatable toothed disc like tillage elements 5. Each section has a shaft 6 on which the elements are mounted. The shafts 6 are journalled in bearings 7 at the lower ends of arms 8. The two arms 8 of each section are connected to each other by a mounting bar 9.

The main frame 11 comprises two tubular members 12 and 13 extending fore and aft. A pair of channel iron members 14 and 15 have their ends secured to the tubular members 12 and 13. These members 14 and 15 are rigidly connected to each other by two spaced apart channel iron members 16 and 17.

The member 12 has two section mounting brackets 18 and 19 pivoted thereon, and held against .endwise movement along the member 12 by suitable collars 18c and 190. The bracket 18 is immediately adjacent to one end of the member 12. The bracket 19 is spaced forwardly from the other end of the member 12. Both brackets 18 and 19 are in front of the connections of the members 14 and 15 respectively to the member 12.

The bar 9 of the section 1 has a cross member 20 welded to it. This member 20 has a flat upper face 21 and the bracket 18 has a flat lower portion 18a that rests on the face 21 and is bolted thereto. The bar 9 of the section 2 has a cross member 22 welded to it. The member 22 has a flat upper face 23 on which a fiat lower portion 19a of the bracket 19 is bolted. These connections of the sections 1 and 2 to the brackets 18 and 19 are such that the sections may be adjusted with respect to the brackets to bring one end of the section forward of the other more or less as indicated by comparison of FIGURES 1 and 2. In FIGURE 1 sections 1 and 2 are in tandem with the section 1 having its outer end leading and the section 2 having its inner end leading. In FIGURE 2 the sections 1 and 2 are parallel and extend at right angles to the tubular member 12.

The tubular member 13 has brackets 24 and 25 pivoted thereon, the bracket 25 being behind the connection of the members 13 and 15 and immediately adjacent to the rear end of the member 13 and the bracket 24 being behind the connection of the member 14 to the member 13. The sections 3 and 4 are connected to their respective brackets 24 and 25 by cross channels 26 and 28 on their bars 9 with flat upper faces 27 and 29 respectively and flat lower portions 24a and 25a on the brackets 24 and 25 bolted to the cross channels 26 and 28 in the same manner as described for the connection of sections 1 and 2 to the brackets 18 and 19. These connections also provide for angular adjustment of the sections 3 and 4 with respect to the brackets 24 and 25 in the same manner that sections 1 and 2 may be adjusted.

A hitch frame 30 is adapted to be connected to either end of the main frame 11. For this purpose each end of the tubular members 12 and 13 has an L-shaped plate 31 welded to it. This plate provides a support for a bar 32 which is bolted to the plate 31 and extends downwardly and away from the end of the tubular member. The hitch frame 30 is A-shaped and the legs 30a and 30b have yokes 33 at their ends that are pivoted to the bars 32 by bolts.

The plates 31 allow the bars 32 and the hitch frame 31 to be applied to either end of the tubular members 12 and 13. The bars 32 are unbolted from the plates 31 at one end of the members 12 and 13 and then bolted to the other end thereof to accomplish the reversal.

For transport purposes the main frame 11 has two wheels 34 and 35 mounted to it. These wheels are journalled on the lower ends of lever arms 36 and 37. The upper ends of the arms 36 and 37 are fixed on hollow shafts 38 and 39. These shafts are journalled in brackets 40 that depend from the tubular members 12 and 13 and brackets 41 depending from the channel iron frame members 16 and 17. The shafts 38 and 39 are adapted to be turned in unison to bring the lever arms to a more or less vertical position to lower and raise the wheels 34 and 35 with respect to the frame 11. The wheels in their movement to their lowermost position lift the frame 11 high enough to raise the sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 several inches above the ground when the frame 11 is held substantially parallel to the ground. However since the sections are pivotally suspended on the tubular members 12 and 13 some means must be provided to keep them from tipping while the implement is travelling. It is also necessary to provide means to keep the frame 11 from tipping with respect to the hitch frame 30 when the sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 are off the ground. The particular combination of parts to accomplish these results will now be described. See FIGURES l and 8-11.

To raise and lower the wheels 34 and 35 with respect to the frame the hollow shafts 38 and 39 are provided with upstanding lever arms 42 and 43 respectively. These arms are connected by links 44 and 45 to depending lever arms 46and 47 that are fixed on the opposite ends of a tubular shaft 48. This shaft has a central upstanding lever arm 49 and a depending lever arm 50 opposite. the lever arm 49. The shaft 48 is journalled in a bracket 51 that is bolted to and extends up above the member 16 and is also journalled in a like bracket 52 that is bolted to and extends above the cross member 17 A hydraulic jack 53 is interposed between the free end of the lever arms 49 and the adjacent frame member 15. By expanding the jack 53 the shaft 48 is turned in a direction to cause the shafts 38 and 39 to turn in a direction to raise the frame 11 with respect to the wheels 34 and 35.

The frame members 14 and 15 have ears 54 and 55 projecting up and outwardly therefrom at a point midway between their ends. Levers 56 and 57 are pivoted to these cars by pivot pins 58 and 59. These levers have depending plates 60 and 61. These plates are positioned to engage the cars 54 .and 55 and limit the outward movement of the upper ends of the levers 56 and 57. The plate 60 has an eye bolt 62 extending through it. A chain 63 connects the eye of the bolt 62 to the depending lever arm 50 on the tubular rock shaft 48. A spring 64 is placed under compression between the plate 60 and a washer-nut assembly 65 on the threaded end of the eyebolt 62. The plate 61 on the lever 57 is provided with an eye bolt 66, spring 67 :and washer-nut assembly 68 like those on the plate 60. A chain 69 connects the eye of the bolt 66 to the upstanding lever arm 49.

The upper end of the lever 56 is connected by a link 70 to an ear 71 provided on the cross member 300 of the hitch frame 30. In use when the jack 53 is expanded to lift the frame 11 with respect to the wheels 34 and 35, the chains 63 and 69 are drawn taut by the rocking movement of the shaft 48. This pushes the upper end of the lever 56 forward to its limit. This stiffens the connection between the hitch frame 30 and the main frame 11 so the front end of the main frame cannot readily move down since such movement is opposed by the spring 64. Upward movement of the front end of the frame 11 with respect to the hitch frame is stopped by engagement of the plate 60 with the ears 54. The outer ends of the sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 are limited in the amount they can tip downward by the engagement of the mounting bars 9 with the main frame members 16 and 17. The inner ends of the sections are prevented from dropping too low by chains 72 and 73 which are connected to the chain 69. The chain 72 has its lower end looped around a spring bar 77 that connects the inner ends of the mounting bars 9 for sections 3 and 4. The chain 73 has its lower ends looped around a spring bar 78 that connects the inner ends of the mounting bars 9 for sections 1 and 2.

The main function of the spring bars 77 and 78 is to control the level of the leading ends of the tillage elements sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 with respect to their trailing ends. When the tillage elements 5 are penetrating the soil the leading end of each section tends to dig deeper than the trailing end. In the present assembly, the sections are pivoted so they may rock with respect to the frame and individually follow the contour of the ground. It is obvious therefore that this tendency would result in uneven penetration by each section. To overcome this tendency the trailing end of each leading section of tandem sections is connected to the leading end of the section behind it by a resilient coupling that provides a downward force on the trailing end of a leading section and an upward force on the leading end of a trailing section. See FIGURES 4-6 and 12-15 for this coupling.

The specific embodiment of this coupling shown comprises the springs bars 7'7 and 78 and their connections to the respective ends of the sections. The spring bar 77 has its rear end secured in a keeper loop on a clamp 79 that is clamped on the bar 9 of section 4 in proximity to the leading end of section 4. The spring bar 77 extends through the loop 80 and is held by a bolt 82. The clamp 79 is secured on the bar 9 by a bolt 81. One end of a turnbuckle 83 is secured to the clamp 79 by the bolt 81. The other end of the turnbuckle 83 is secured to a U-shaped member 84 that is fitted over the spring bar 77 and secured thereto so that it cannot rock with respect to the bar 77. Thus by adjusting the turnbuckle 83 to decrease the distance from the bolt 81 to the member 84 the spring bar can be angled downwardly more. The member 84 has a cross partition 84a. in it. There are two straps 85 and 86 on opposite sides of the bar 77 where it passes over the partition 84a. A bolt 87 secures the member 84 and the straps 85 and 86 on the bar 77. This stitfens the bar 77 at the point of connection between it and the member 84, and keeps the member 84 at a right angle to that part of the bar 77 going through the member 84.

The bar 78 is connected to the bar 9 of the section 1 in the same manner that the bar 77 is connected to the bar 9 of the section 4. The corresponding parts are; a clamp 88, a bolt 90, a keeper loop 89 with a bolt 91 to secure the end of the bar 78, a turnbuckle 92, a U-shaped member 93 with a cross partition 93a, straps 94 and 95 and a bolt 96. For the details of parts 88-96 see FIG- URES 12, 13 and 15.

The inner end of the bar 9 for the section 3 and the inner end of the bar 9 for section 2 are connected to the bars 77 and 78 respectively by clamps 97 and 98 having keeper loops 99 and 100 thereon that receive the free ends of the bars. Bolts 101 and 102 pass through the respective loops and bars. Referring now to FIGURE 5 to apply raising force to the leading end of section 2, the turnbuckle 92 is adjusted to increase the distance from the bar 9 of section 1 to the lower end of the respective U-shaper member 93. This tends to lift the end of the bar 78 that is secured in the loop 100 and the lifting force is borne by the trailing end of the section 1 so that it depresses this trailing end while lifting up on the leading end of the section 2. The turnbuckle 83 is shown as mounted to the bar 9 of section 4 so that, to raise the inner end of section 4 and lower the inner end of section 3, the turnbuckle 83 is adjusted to bow the spring bar 77 down as shown in FIGURE 4. If the turnbuckle assembly 79-84 were reversed and mounted on the bar 9 for section 3 it would of course be adjusted to bow the spring bar 77 upward like the bar 78 is shown in FIGURE 5 to lift the leading inner end of section 4.

It will be noted that the bars 77 and 78 have spaced apertures 103 therein so they may be secured by the bolts 101 and 102 in several positions depending upon the angle made by the sections with respect to the longitudinal axes of the members 12 and 13 and the direction of travel of the implement.

The angularity of the sections 1 to 4 with respect to the members 12 and 13 of the frame 11 may be held in various ways. One such way is shown wherein tie bars 105 and 106 are bolted to keeper loops 109 and 110 of brackets 107 and 108 on the bars 9 of the trailing sections 2 and 4 and extend forwardly and outwardly to brackets 111 and 112 on the tubular members 12 and 13. The tie bars are apertured at 115 to receive the pins 113 and 114 of the keeper loops 109 and 110 at various points to provide the desired angularity of these sections. The bars 77 and 78 then take care of the corresponding angularity of the front sections 1 and 3 since they space the inner ends of sections 1 and 3 a predetermined distance from the inner ends of sections 2 and 4.

The apertures 115 in the tie bars 105 and 106 and the apertures 103 in the spring bars 77 and 78 are proportionally spaced so that a change of one aperture on the tie bar 105 or 106 requires a change of one aperture on the corresponding spring bar 78 or 77.

It is believed that the natureand advantages of my invention will be clear from the foregoing description. The device described provides a cultivator that can be pulled from either end, adjusted to set the tillage implements at various angles to the direction of travel and then adjusted to overcome the tendency of the leading ends to dig too deeply.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A soil cultivator Comprising:

a wheeled frame;

a plurality of adjacent sections of rotatable hoes arranged in tandem beneath the frame;

the sections extending transversely to the direction of travel of the frame and means pivotally connecting said sections intermediate their ends to the frame for rocking movement about axes that extend in the direction of travel of the frame;

resilient bar means rigidly connected from a point on each section spaced from its pivotal connection to the frame to a corresponding point on the next adjacent section; and

means connected from said bar means to one of said sections adjustable to apply a variable bending force to said bar means for lifting one of said sections with respect to the other.

2. A soil cultivator comprising:

a wheeled frame;

a front section of rotatable hoes and an adjacent section of rotatable hoes arranged in tandem beneath the frame;

the sections extending transversely to the direction of travel of the frame and means pivotally connecting said sections intermediate their ends to the frame for rocking movement about axes that extend in the direction of travel of the frame; and

a resilient bar rigidly connected to and extending from the front section to the adjacent section, and secured to both sections;

said bar being under tension to cause it to lift up on one section and push down on the other section.

3, A soil cultivator comprising:

a wheeled frame;

a front section of rotatable hoes and a rear section of rotatable hoes arranged in tandem beneath the frame;

the sections extending transversely to the direction of travel of the frame and means pivotally connecting said sections intermediate their ends to the frame for rocking movement about axes that extend in the direction of travel of the frame;

resilient bar means rigidly connected to one end of the front section and to the corresponding end of the rear section, and

means to bend said bar to cause it to lift on one section and press down on the other, comprising a turnbuckle having one end affixed to one of said sections and having the other end aifixed to the bar between said sections.

4. A rotary hoe type soil cultivator comprising:

a pair of rotatable hoe sections, each embodying a series of disc-like members on a common shaft and a mounting bar connected to said shaft for suspending the sections;

a wheeled frame including two brackets spaced apart in the direction of travel of said frame and in fore and aft alignment on a common axis, said brackets being pivoted on the frame for rocking movement about said axis;

one of said mounting bars being suspended from the forwardmost bracket and the other mounting bar being suspended from the other bracket thus connecting said sections in tandem, each section having its shaft extending transversely to the said common axis; and

a spring bar extending from one end of one section to the corresponding end of the other section and affixed to both of them whereby it yieldingly opposes rocking movement of either section independently of the other section.

5. The device defined in claim 4 wherein said mounting bars are rotatable in a horizontal direction on the brackets and adjustable means connects one of said bars to the wheeled frame to prevent such rotation.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 259,089 6/82 Burger et al. 172-623 354,963 12/86 Alshouse 172-631 1,689,053 10/28 Rude 172-619 2,469,622 5/49 Acton 172-579 2,608,813 9/52 Frank 172-579 2,760,323 8/56 Cooper 172-583 2,797,542 7/ 57 Webster et al. 172-583 2,943,691 7/60 Kramer 172-572 2,970,656 2/61 Kampe 172-619 3,080,004 3/63 McNair 172-600 ANTONIO F. GUIDA, Primary Examiner.

ARNOLD RUEGG, Examiner. 

1. A SOIL CULTIVATOR COMPRISING: A WHEELED FRAME; A PLURALITY OF ADJACENT SECTIONS OF ROTATABLE HOES ARRANGED IN TANDEM BENEATH THE FRAME; THE SECTIONS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY TO THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF THE FRAME AND MEANS PIVOTALLY CONNECTING SAID SECTIONS INTERMEDIATE THEIR ENDS TO THE FRAME FOR ROCKING MOVEMENT ABOUT AXES THAT EXTEND IN THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF THE FRAME; RESILIENT BAR MEANS RIGIDLY CONNECTED FROM A POINT ON EACH SECTION SPACED FROM ITS PIVOTAL CONNECTION TO THE FRAME TO A CORRESPONDING POINT ON THE NEXT ADJACENT SECTION; AND MEANS CONNECTED FROM SAID BAR MEANS TO ONE OF SAID SECTIONS ADJUSTABLE TO APPLY A VARIABLE BENDING FORCE TO SAID BAR MEANS FOR LIFTING ONE OF SAID SECTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE OTHER. 